Allow me to preface this first by saying, she…is…terrified… of the water. She will take baths and play in a pool but she has never and claims she never will go under water of her own accord.
So you can probably make the assumption and be right in thinking this wasn't going to go well. She tentatively stepped into the baptismal font and did great! She was brave and everything. Just one small problem she has floating feet. As her head went down her feet came up and went right out of the water. I coaxed her into a second attempt and despite much protest on her part she went for it, and once again her feet shot straight out of the water. She, absolutely was finished and there was no coaxing her into it again.
We did the only thing we could we took a lengthy break to allow her to calm down while we added more water to the font. During that time we calmed and she was a lot more relaxed but very adamant, she would not try again. We tried a few practice attempts, out of the water, then had a prayer asking for Heavenly Father's help to give her the courage. Then as she made her way to the font for our third attempt, The Wife, bribed her with a special treat if she tried once more.
So with the reward in mind, she stepped down into the water. Still very anxious, and deeply terrified, clutching to me as if her life depended on it and refusing to let go or change her grip. As time passed, I was thinking we would have to postpone her baptism. I mean, just how much torment can we expect one little girl to take. Suddenly I noticed her grip had changed and she no longer had her hand around my back. So I took advantage of the temporary position shift and preformed the ordinance, with me on my knees and her safely and cleanly under water, she emerged with a bit of a shocked look and terror in her eyes. She climbed out of the font and went to her mother to verify she would get her reward.
After the baptism we laid our hands on her head confirmed her a member of the church, of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and told to receive the Holy Ghost. During that time she was also given council for her life. First she was told how much her father in heaven loved her and how brave she was in facing her fear. She was told that this would not be the only time she would face her fears and to learn to recognize the Holy Ghost and how he speaks to her then as he speaks listen and do what he says. Doing so will help her in her life.
Afterword…
So what have I learned?
That's simple, don't expect all your children to face their fears the same way.
While all of my kids have an immense fear of the water (among other things) they handle it differently. T trusted that I would not let her drown, D's fear I think was learned from T and is not genuine (she will put herself underwater in the pool). K simply didn't believe that I wouldn't drown her, not sure where that comes from. L, like D, has learned that he is supposed to be afraid of water from his older siblings. Something we have a few years to break him of before he is baptized.
We are very proud of that K was willing to face her fears, even though she REALLY didn't want to, and met as close as she could go on her own relying on faith and help from the Lord and others to guide her the rest of the way. While she may not realize the significance of her actions, it is truly impressive and shows her willingness to follow the examples she has had in her life.
To those who read this and think that what happened was an unnecessary cruelty, let me ask you a question. Do you have moments in your life where you were asked to do something that was very frightening to you? Was it unavoidable? Or could you choose not to do it? In this case she easily could have out right refused and not gotten into the water. To avoid something just because its scary is to avoid life. Life is scary. We have unavoidable moments when we are faced with our worst fears, and we don't always have the choice to opt out. The thing that makes life worth living are the obstacles. Without them we would have a mediocre existence. With the trials and fearful experience comes a completeness of life. It is by finding our fears and weaknesses and striving to overcome them that we are blessed and truly grow. I am not saying that I would gladly walk into trials and fears, quite frankly I would rather avoid them. I do however understand their necessity and while in the midst of them hope that I respond the way The Lord would have me.
K was not the only one to have to face fear. I was becoming fearful for her and was at a complete loss as to what to do. I was grateful for all the support that was there. T faced one of her fears today also, she had been asked to offer the opening prayer. She stood up and went to the microphone opened the prayer and then mid sentence she froze. Like a deer caught in the lights of a car. She had become so nervous that she forgot what she was going to say. She said she was trying to think of something but she couldn't think. Poor girl. I do not believe that this will be then end of public prayers for her.
The Savior set the best example on how we should approach theses fears. In the garden of gethsemane, he prayed, let this cup pass over me. He didn't want to do it, he was probably a little scared. But he put the will of his father first. He continued, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. He submitted himself to his fathers will, getting strengthened for the task he was to undertake. He also sought strength from his friends asking them to pray. He modeled it for us perfectly.
